Register



June 13, 1961 M. 5. WILSON 2,987,982

REGISTER Filed July 16, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Tm P 34 43 I I I) Guy wini'i; I9 50 gay N 23 INVENTOR.

Maurice S. Wilson BY WHITEHEAD VOGL a LOWE ATTORNEYS M. S. WILSON June 13, 1961 REGISTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 16, 1958 H 000 00000 00000 00000 00000 00000 00000 M 00000 00000 00000 00000 00000 W 00000 00000 N 00000 Fig. 5

INVENTOR. Maurice S. Wilson BY WHITEHEAD, voGLaLowE ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 2,987,982 REGISTER Maurice S. Wilson, 2120 S. Birch St., Denver, Colo. Filed July 16, 1958, Ser. No. 749,023 Claims. (Cl. 98-38) This invention relates to air conditioning systems which interblend hot and cold air to a selected temperature for discharge into a room and more particularly to an improved type of a compound outlet register which controls, interblends and regulates the release of flow from hot and cold air supply ducts.

Air conditioning systems of modern buildings are equipped to provide both hot and cold air and usually these systems include two sets of supply ducts for the purpose. The heating and cooling plants are generally located at a central station and hot air and cold air is forced into their respective ducts as with blowers, to provide for a substantial air flow at the points of delivery in various rooms of a building. At these points of delivery the flow is controlled by registers for the hot and cold air ducts. With such a system, year round temperature control of the rooms is possible; the dominant flow in the winter being hot air and the dominant in the summer being cold air.

Various thermostatic control devices are available which may be used to regulate the flow of air from a register to supply hot or cold air depending upon the actual and desirable room temperature. However, in such systems these controls at the registers are limited to temperature regulation only. In conventional systems there is no provision for the interblending of hot and cold air for ventilation purposes for the conventional systems opcrate one unit at a time, either to warm or cool the air temperature in a room. Nevertheless in many instances ventilation is fully as important as temperature regulation and the ideal system will combine both operations.

With such in mind, the present invention was conceived and developed to provide an improved compound outlet register which is adapted to receive and control the flow of both hot and cold air and to combine and blend the flow for release into a room. A primary object of the inveution is thus to provide a novel and improved outlet register which is adapted to receive hot and cold air flows, blend both flows according to selected proportions and quantities for release into a room to obtainboth temperature control and ventilation of the room.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hot and cold air outlet register for a compound ventilating, warming and cooling air system which effectively interblends the hot and cold air within the apparatus in selected proportions and quantities before it is released into a room.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved hot and cold air outlet register which is adapted to discharge a flow of blended hot and cold air into a room with a minimum of objectionable draft and yet with a circulating air movement in a natural manner that effects constant and complete circulation of the air within the room.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a novel and improved compound hot and cold air outlet register, a controlled passageway therethrough which efficiently blends the separate flows in an absolute minimum of space and permits the use of a small unit which may be dimensioned according to standard building modules.

Another object of the invention is to provide in an improved outlet register a blending chamber adapted to eliminate noise effects such as whistling, squealing and the like, which may be induced by air movement through the chamber or the approach passageways.

Yet other objects of the invention are to provide in a novel and improved air register for combining the flow 2,987,982 Patented June 13, 1961 of hot and cold air for temperature control and ventilation of a room, a simple, sturdy, low-cost, neat-appearing, rugged and durable unit which operates with a high degree of efficiency.

With the foregoing, and other objects in view, all of which more fully hereinafter appear, my invention comprises certain novel and improved constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts and elements as hereinafter described and as defined in the appended claims and illustrated in preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of my improved register set into a pocket in the wall of a building and at the floor level thereof with the fioor structure being in section to illustrate supply ducts therebeneath and with portions of the wall being removed to illustrate one type of wall construction.

FIGURE 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the apparatus as viewed from the indicated line 2-2 at FIG. 1, but on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 3 is a transverse sectional elevation of the apparatus per se as viewed from the indicated line 3-3 at FIG. 1 but on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional plan of the apparatus as viewed from the indicated line 44 at FIG. 2 but on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional elevation as viewed from the indicated line 5-5 at FIG. 2.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged isometric fragmentary view of the central portion of the interior of the unit as taken substantially from the indicated arrow 6 at FIG. 5, portions of certain elements being broken away to show the parts otherwise hidden from view.

Referring more particularly to the drawing the compound control register 10 which constitutes my invention, is especially adapted for use in connection with a hot and cold forced-air ventilating system wherein flows of hot and cold air are forced through hot and cold air ducts H and C respectively. These ducts are located beneath a floor F of a building in standard construction. They are directed to a pocket P in a wall section W of the building where the register 10 is set. At this location, the ducts H and C under the floor are directed upwardly by risers or boots B which connect with the register 10 as hereinafter described.

The pocket P which holds the register 10 at the base of the wall section W adjacent the floor F is of sutficient size to receive the register, and this pocket and the register are proportioned to provide for a suitable height and width which corresponds with a multiple of the ordinary framing module of 16 inches used in conventional construction. The depth of the pocket P is likewise conventionalized to correspond with the thickness of ordinary framing members forming the wall W should the wall construction be of lumber as shown or of brick. In this manner the construction of the wall pocket P is such as to provide minimum interference with the standard framing pattern of the building.

The register 10 is comparatively shallow, to fit into the pocket P, and is sutficiently wide, laterally, to set upon two aligned, laterally elongated boot openings B which are spaced in mutual alignment at the floor of the air pocket P between floor joists J as clearly illustrated at FIG. 1. The register is connected with the boots B by collars 11 depending from the underside thereof.

The register 10 is formed as a narrow box-like unit that partially sets within the pocket P with the front portion of the unit projecting outwardly from the Wall surface. The body of the register is encased within a shell of sheet metal including a back wall 12, side walls 13, front wall 14, top 15 and bottom 16, with all walls being joined at their seams and edges according to conventional sheet metal construction.

The passageway and movement of air through the unit is from the bottom through openings at collars 11 and thence upwardly through the unit and from a longitudinal slot-like discharge opening 17 along the upper front edge of the unit. The front portion of the register which projects into the room beyond the surface of the wall W is divided from the rear portion within the pocket by a flange 18 across the top and 18' at the sides of the unit at the outlet and by an offset 19 at the sides of the unit below the outlet.

The upward forced movement of Warm air and cold air through their respective boots and into the register from the bottom openings is first into a lower section which can be designated generally as a control section in the register and thence to an upper section which is essentially a mixing chamber 20. The flow into the lower control section is regulated by control hoods immediately above the collars 11 and then spread laterally by baffies above the hoods, as hereinafter described. In the upper part of the register in the mixing chamber 20, the air from the hot and cold sources is fully blended before being discharged from the opening 17. A rear inner wall 21 and front inner wall 22 are spaced Within the unit from the respective rear and front walls 12 and 14- and a filler material 23 is packed into the space between the respective inner and outer walls. The inner walls are of reticulated, foraminous construction capable of absorbing sound effects and the filler material 23 is likewise preferably of sound-absorbent insulating material.

It is important to provide such sound absorbent surfaces, especially in the blending chamber since blending and movement of air through restrictive, controlling passageways is conducive of induced air vibration patterns resulting in whistling, squealing and like tones. Further to eliminate directional tendencies of certain high pitch sounds such as induced squealing commonly heard in registers, the passageway through the mixing chamber is interrupted by a hump or deflector 24 at the rear side of the chamber and an offset hump or deflector 25 at the front side of the chamber, these deflectors being formed by bending the respective front and rear inner walls.

The passageway from the chamber 20 is to the outlet 17 and the inner walls 21 and 22, are curved in a manner to provide for a smooth discharge into a room at an angle of approximately degrees. However, to direct this flow upwardly, a pair of longitudinally disposed vanes or louvers 26 are placed in the opening 17. An upward air flow is desirable since ventilating air entering a room from the floor level and moves upwardly, it will dispense at the ceiling and effectively circulate about the room with a minimum noticeable effect.

Temperature control means responsive to the room temperature are located within the unit in the chamber 20, conveniently at the center of the unit. This control is formed as a narrow box 27 abutting the front wall 14. An intake opening 28 extends through the wall 14 to the interior of and at the bottom of the box. A discharge spout 29 upstands from the top of the box 27 which is open at the top and tapered in such a manner as to form an aspirator or syphon to pull a small amount of air from the room into the box 27 from intake 28 and thence into the mixing chamber 20 responsive to upward movement of hot and cold air through the register. Suitable ornamental louvers 39 are at the opening 28 to complete the box.

A thermostatic control 31 is mounted within the box above the opening 23 so that room air flow through the box will regulate the temperature of the control 31. This temperature-responsive unit is conventional in form and includes an actuating rod 3-2 which depends through the box 23 to rotate and function as hereinafter described. To complete the unit, a setting control 33: extends from the thermostat 31 through the front wall 14 to be accessible for manual adjustment and setting of the thermostat.

The air flow through each duct H and C into the register i0 is controlled by the register to provide for both heating and ventilation since in many instances it is more desirable to have a good supply of ventilating air than to have only a supply of hot or cold air. The improved register 10 is adapted to blend selected amounts of hot and cold air and also to regulate the supply of air as for ventilation. To accomplish this operation an adjustable ported control hood 34 is set upon the bottom 16 of the register over each intake opening and these units are operatively interconnected for regulatory flow of the air supplies as hereinafter described.

Each control hood 34 is shaped as an end-closed prism which upstands from the floor of the lateral unit, with both hoods 34 being aligned on a common axis, and with each hood appearing as a regular trapezoid in transverse section. Each hood 34 is thus formed with sloping front and rear side walls 35 and a comparatively narrow top 36. The outer side of each hood abuts against a side wall 13 while the inner side is closed off by an end wall 37 suitably spaced from the corresponding end wall 37 of the opposite hood. Each sloping side wall 35 includes a regular array of orifices 38 to permit passage of air moving upwardly into the register through the hood.

Regulation of the air flow into each hood 34 and through the orifices 38 is controlled by a prismatic-like arrangement of flat skirts which lie or nest upon and which have the same general shape as the walls 35 and top 36 of the hood 34. Each skirt is shiftable upon its hood along the prism axis and include orifices therein which move into and out of registration with the orifices 38 to open and close the passage at the orifices, in the same manner as does a common orificed damper move against a grated air distributor outlet.

A first skirt 39 which lies directly upon each hood 34 includes an array of orifices 38' which are in registration with the hood orifices 38 when the skirt is at one selected position but which move out of registration as the skirt is shifted along the prism axis of the hood. The skirt 39 on each hood is interconnected with its opposing skirt 39 by a link bar 40 and the adjustment of link bar 49 is such that the orifices 38' of both skirts register fully with the hood orifices 38 simultaneously so that shifting of the two skirts will simultaneously open and close the orifice passageways to regulate the total air flow through both sides of the register to determine a desired total amount of ventilating air that will normally pass through the register. The link bar 40 includes an outstanding handle 41 which extends through the wall 14 of the unit as through a slot 42.

It follows that the skirts 39 may be shifted and adjusted by a simple manual setting. It is contemplated however, that the link bar 40 may be dispensed with and individual handles similar to 41 may extend through suitable front wall slots similar to 42 so that each skirt 39 may be adjusted independently of the other for individually regulating and controlling the total flow of hot and/or cold air through the register.

A second skirt 43 nests upon and over each skirt 39 and is along the prism axis of the hood slideable thereon. Each skirt 43 includes a set of orifices 38" which registers with the orifices 38' and 38 when the skirts are all shifted to a selected common position. The skirts 43 are arranged for controlling the temperature of air being discharged from the registers and to alternatively control the hot and cold air flows and they are interconnected by'a shifting bar 44 which is so adjusted that in normal position the orifices 38" of one skirt 43 will be shifted laterally to a position out of registration with the mating orifices 38 and 38 of the underlying elements, when the orifices 38" of the other skirt 43 are in registration with the mating orifices 38 and those underlying elements. Therefore, the shifting movement of the skirts 43' will open the passageways through one side of the register and close the passageways through the other side.

The control rod 32 of the thermostat 31 includes a crank 45 at its base which is connected to a pin 46 upstanding from the shift bar 44 in such a manner that temperature changes which actuate the thermostat 31 will rotate the control rod 32 to effect longitudinal shifting of the skirts 43. Since a thermostat such as 31 is adjustable and may be regulated, set andadjusted for any selected proportioning of the hot and cold air flows is possible. In order to further provide for basic adjustments once a register such as described is installed in a given system, the shift bar 44 may be varied in length as by a lock splice 47 on the bar, as shown at FIG. 6.

In order to effectively intermingle and interblend the flows of hot and cold air which enter the register from the opposite sides thereof, regardless of the comparative amounts of hot and cold air being supplied, a pair of blending baffles 48 is mounted within the register at the base of the blending chamber 20 with one above each control hood 34 in diametrical opposition with the other and in a substantially symmetrical manner. Each bafile 43 is arranged to permit a portion of the air flow from the hood control to move upwardly into the section of the mixing chamber above the control hood and to laterally oifset a portion of the air flow from the control hood to the section of the mixing chamber at the side opposite from the control hood.

Each bafiie includes a horizontal plate 48 mounted over one side of its hood 34, A confining flange 49 depends from the central edge of each plate 48 to extend longitudinally over the top of the control hood 34 close to the top of the upper skirt 43. Two other sides of the plate abut against the walls of the register to thereby block ofi the side of the hood over which the plate extends and to substantially separate the air flow at the front side of the hood from the air flow at the rear side.

Therefore, each plate 48 in combination with its depending flange 49 on one side thereof and with the wall 21 or 22, on the other side thereof acts substantially as an inverted channel and effectively forces the air supply underneath it to flow laterally to the opposite side of the register. Since each plate 48 is in dianietrical opposition with the other, with one plate being at the front inner wall 22 of the register and with the other plate being at the rear inner wall 21 of the register, it follows that movement of the hot air and cold air from their supply ducts will simultaneously extend across both sides of the register. Such movements will naturally effect blending of the air flows in the mixing chamber and the desirable result is the uniform blending of hot and cold air across the entire register without concentrations of hot or cold air in the blasts being emitted from the register.

To assure a good longitudinal dispersion of the laterally moving hot and cold air as the blending takes effect, a distributor plate 50 is mounted in the chamber 26 at each open side of the hoods 34 opposite to the plates 43. This distributor plate 50 is shown generally as being triangular so that air movement from under the plate 43 and thence under the distributor plate is distributed uniformly across the chamber.

As such the distributing plate 50 acts as a manifold to evenly distribute the flow of the laterally moving from one hood source with the upward moving air from the other 'hoocl source and it is contemplated that it may take on other forms than that illustrated, such as a series of bafiles or orifices in the plate or the like and the desirable form for this distributor plate can be quickly and easily ascertained by air flow measurements.

I have now described my invention in considerable detail, nevertheless, it is apparent that others skilled in the art can devise alternate and equivalent constructions which are within the scope and spirit of my invention. Hence I desire that my protection be limited, not by the 6 constructions illustrated and described, but only by the proper scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An air blending register for a compound ventilating system having a hot and cold air supply duct, and comprising a comparatively wide and shallow box-like body having longitudinally disposed front and rear walls, an intake at each side of the base of the body for connection with a supply duct, an air-flow regulator within the body over each intake, a blending baflie over a portion of each air-flow regulator having one edge against a wall section of the body and a flange depending from the other edge and to the regulator and being adapted to divide the flow from the regulator, the edge of one bafiie being against the front wall of the body and the edge of the other baffie being against the rear wall, each baffle, flange and wall section forming a generally inverted channel adapted to shift that portion of the flow from the regulator under the bafile to the opposite side of the body and thereby spread the flow from each regulator across the body, a mixing chamber above the blending baflles and a discharge outlet near the top of the body.

2. In the organization defined in claim 1, said air-flow regulators being formed as prismatic end-closed hoods aligned on a common axis, each hood having front and rear sidewalls sloping inwardly from the bottom of the body to a narrow top surface, an array of discharge orifices through each sidewall and shiftable damper means having orifices adapted to register with'the sidewall orifices at one position and to shift out of registration at other positions to regulate the air flow through the orifices, said depending blending-bathe flange extending to the top edge of its regulator.

3. An air blending register for a compound ventilating system having a hot and cold air supply duct, and comprising, a comparatively wide and shallow box-like body, an intake at each side of the base of the body for connection with a supply duct, an air-flow regulator within the body over each intake, blending means over each air-flow regulator, a mixing chamber above the blending means and a discharge outlet near the top of the body, wherein the air-flow regulators are formed as prismatic, end-closed hoods aligned on a common lateral axis, with each hood having front and rear sidewalls and an array of discharge orifices through each sidewall, a generally prismatic-formed damper skirt mounted upon each hood to lie against the sidewalls thereof, being slidable thereon in the direction of the prism axis and having an array of discharge orifices therethrough which register with the discharge orifices of the hood when slidably shifted to a selected position of registration, a second generally prismatic-formed damper shirt mounted upon the first skirt to lie thereagainst, being slidable thereon in the direction of the prism axis and having an array of discharge orifices therethrough which register with the discharge orifices of the first said damper skirt when slidably shifted to a selected position of registration.

4. In the organization defined in claim 3, a first interlock means between the first said skirt of one hood with the corresponding first said skirt of the other hood to shift the first said set of skirts in unison, a second interlock means between the second said skirt of one hood with the corresponding second said skirt of the other hood to shift the second said set of skirts in unison, with one interlock means being adjusted to position the orifices in its set of skirts into registration and out of registration with the respective hood orifices in unison and the other interlock means being adjusted to position the orifices in its skirts into and out of registration with respective hood orifices in opposition.

5. In the organization defined in claim 2, means for interlocking the damper means of one hood with that of the other, with the orifices of one damper means being out of registration with their hood orifices when the orifices of the other skirt are in registration with their hood sidewall orifices and means at the interlock for selectively shifting the skirts to vary the respective registrations of the skirt and hood orifices.

6. In the organization defined in claim 3, means for interlockinga skirt of one hood with the corresponding skirt of the other hood to move the skirts in unison, with the orifices of one skirt being out of registration with its hood orifices when the orifices of the other skirt are in registration with its hood orifices and means at the interlock for selectively shifting the skirts to vary the respective registrations of the skirt and hood orifices.

7. In the organization defined in claim 6, a temperature responsive control means and said means at the interlock including actuator means having controls'connected to the temperature control means adapted to operate responsive to the temperature control means.

8. In an air blending register for a compound ventilating system having a hot air and a cold air supply duct of the type of which is formed generally as a comparatively wide and shallow wall-enclosed box-like cabinet having side walls, and a longitudinally disposed front wall and back wall, an intake at each side of the base of the cabinet for connection with an air-supply duct, a mixing chamber in the upper portion of the cabinet and an outlet near the top of the cabinet, an air-blending means within the register including, an air flow regulating means extending from each intake and into the register body, a blending bafiie over each regulating means formed generally as a fiat plate having a length substantially equal to one half the width of the cabinet and extending from a side wall to the middle of the cabinet, one bafiie extending from the rear wall towards the longitudinal center of the cabinet and the other bafile extending from the front wall towards the longitudinal center of the cabinet, and a flange depending from each longitudinal edge of each bafiie, downwardly and substantially to the middle of each air regulator, whereby half the air flow from each regulator is directed towards the opposite side of the cabinet to blend with air from the other regulator before being directed upwardly to the mixing chamber in the cabinet above the baffies.

9. In the organization set forth in claim 8, a substantially triangular, longitudinally-disposed distributing plate extending from the middle end of each batfie plate. and towards the opposite end of the cabinet, with one longitudinal edge of each distributing plate being against the wall from which its baffle extends and the other longitudinal edge tapering diagonally from the center of the cabinet at the end of the bafiie plate to said Wall at the opposite end of the cabinet.

10. In an air blending register for a compound ventilating system having a hot air and a cold air supply duct of the type of which is formed generally as a comparatively wide and shallow wall-enclosed box-like cabinet having side walls, and a longitudinally disposed front wall and back wall, an intake means at each side of the base of the cabinet for connection with an air-supply duct, a mixing chamber in the upper portion of the cabinet and an outlet near the top of the cabinet, an air-blending means within the register including, a blending b-afiie over each intake means formed generally as a fiat plate having a length substantially equal to one half the width of the cabinet and extending from a side wall to the middle of the cabinet, one bafiie extending from the rear wall towards the longitudinal center of the cabinet and the other baffie extending from the front wall towards the longitudinal center of the cabinet, and a flange depending from each longitudinal edge of each battle, downwardly and substantially to the middle of each air intake means, whereby half the air fiow from each intake means is directed towards the opposite side of the cabinet to blend with air from the other intake means before being directed upwardly to the mixing chamber in the cabinet above the bafiies.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,801,568 Petrelli Apr, 21, 1931 2,281,370 Morrison Apr. 28, 1942 2,718,840 Lyman Sept. 27, 1955 2,720,151 Kreuttner Oct. 11, 1955 2,783,979 Blum Mar. 5, 1957 2,819,023 Marshall Ian. 7, 1958 2 813,474 Kurth Nov, 19, 1958 

